The Best Holiday Apartments to Book in Sydney

You’ll do well to find a better view of Sydney than the one that comes with this dashing holiday apartment on the 12th floor of the One Darling Harbour residential complex. The furniture is so fashionable, smart and angular, it might just be superstar Russell Crowe’s second home. The lounge permits an unrivalled seat overlooking the Pyrmont Bridge that splits the harbour in two, and the imposing Sydney Tower is among the dozens of skyscrapers that will fit into your viewfinder from the veranda. It all makes for the best spot in the city to take in Cockle Bay’s Saturday night fireworks display.

With their enviable location in Sydney’s CBD (Central Business District), a kangaroo-hop from Hyde Park, these vacation digs take clean and minimalist design beautifully beyond the call of duty – we love the way the vivid blue and purple furnishings stand out so dramatically against the cool white walls. The large kitchen includes a ton of cupboard space, towering fridge freezer, oven and dishwasher. Top tip – don’t stock up on bottled water, as it’s supplied free of charge. The Smart TV includes a Netflix subscription – but try not to spend the whole time glued to those Scandi-noir series. For a start, you’ll enjoy free use of the outdoor pool – and all the while sexy, sensational Sydney is waiting.

The open-plan apartments on Castlereagh Street, which runs north-south, just west of Hyde Park, are home to some great one- to three-bedroom spaces. Most have balconies with city views. If jet lag needs calming, indulge in the well-equipped gym, 16m (52ft) heated pool and bubbling restorative spa. For incurable competitive times, there are even table-tennis facilities. The team will be able to arrange for use of a barbecue whenever the Sydney sun is shining. For food that you don’t have to cook yourself, there are plenty of banquets in the restaurants of nearby Chinatown.

Manly Beach is one of the most famous patches of sand in all of Australia, acclaimed for a surfing culture that emerged from the first world championships held here in 1964. But despite the property name, a stay at Manly Surfside doesn’t require you to know your cutbacks from your kick-outs. Anyone can appreciate all that they offer. There are more than a dozen classily decorated apartments in five spread-out locations along the coast, with beige and white furnishings allowing the impressively wide windows and the landscape they look out on to take centre stage.

Built in the early 1960s, these holiday apartments aren’t named after the patron saint of love, but one of the owners of Valentines Restaurant, a thriving Sydney hotspot in the wake of World War II. Locals may also recognise the name from the renowned Valentine Sports Park west of the city. These apartments don’t overdo it on gimmicks or frills – what they do offer is easy comfort mixed with decorative style, with a lovely setting on the Balmoral Slopes in Mosman, overlooking Sydney Harbour.

Thanks to its prime location, this slick two-bedroom apartment enjoys the rare advantage of free parking, and does a great job of delivering both practicality and luxury. Along with said parking, a work desk and generously equipped kitchen can be filed into the former, while the rooftop pool, balcony sofa and epic view towards the Anzac Bridge tick every box in the latter category. The two well-sized bedrooms comprise a twin and a double – in premises this select, you don’t want a crowd.

The name of this vacation apartment may not win any Hemingway awards for brevity, but it certainly does what it says on the tin – there’s no better way of summing up its headline traits. The peaceful and convenient location in question is Burwood, a charming western Sydney suburb home to more than a dozen heritage buildings, including the head-turning post office with its soaring Italianate clocktower, designed by English architect Colonel Walter Liberty Vernon in 1892. Large canvas paintings adorn the walls of the ground-floor apartment, and for a morning coffee in the southern sun, the terrace has your name on it.